Information Taxonomy (I0–I3)
Purpose: prevent equivocation when we say “information is primary” by tagging which sense of “information” a claim uses.
I0 — Ontic Information (Distinction-as-being)
- Meaning: “difference / distinction” is ontologically primitive.
- Typical use: metaphysical/ontological axioms.
- Theophysics touchpoint:
02_Definitions/D-002 Information.md+01_Ontological_Primitives/AX-003 Information Primacy.md.
I1 — Shannon Information (Uncertainty / entropy)
- Meaning: bits as uncertainty reduction; communication/channel capacity.
- Typical use: physics/engineering; does not imply meaning.
- Risk: importing I1 results and treating them as ontic claims (category jump).
I2 — Semantic Information (Meaning / reference)
- Meaning: information about something; truth-conditions; interpretation.
- Typical use: “Logos”, semantics, theology/philosophy of language.
- Risk: smuggling meaning into physics without an operator/bridge.
I3 — Causal/Integrated Information (Cause–effect power)
- Meaning: information defined by causal structure / irreducible integration (IIT-style Φ).
- Typical use: consciousness/agency thresholds; intrinsic causal power.
- Risk: equating Φ directly with χ without a formal bridge (might be proxy/measure, not identity).
Tagging rule (quarantine)
Whenever we write an external claim here, add one line:
information_sense: I0 | I1 | I2 | I3(or a list if truly necessary)
Quick mapping (tentative)
- IIT “information/specificity”: I3 (phenomenology → causal structure) + sometimes I1 language.
- Bohm “active information”: usually I2/I3 (form-guidance), not plain I1.
- Hoffman: FBT is I1/I2 (fitness-relevant interface), metaphysical claims about reality are separate.
- CTMU SCSPL: I2 (syntax/semantics) with I0-style metaphysical ambitions.
- Hartman: value calculus uses I2 (concept definitions) with a formal hierarchy.
Next step: I can update the external notes (EXT-001..EXT-005) to include information_sense: tags and point to this taxonomy.